The consortium couldn't be bothered to refurbish (not enough money in it) so the health authority devised a plan to knock the two hospitals down and build a new one - for £174m. George continues, "Did I say £174m? I beg your pardon. By January 2002 the price had risen to to £290m. A month later it reached £311m. By the end of that year it was estimated at £370m. In March 2007, the Birmingham Post reported that the final cost was £410m. This year the hospital trust must find £56m, covering repayments and service fees, to hand to the private consortium. The annual cost will rise in line with the retail price index for 30 years...Over the past few days the hospital trust has announced a £30m hole in its budget. Around £10m of the necessary cuts could be found by making staff redundant:  it will lose 200 people, perhaps 375."

Spend £410m to save £30m! Pay £56m a year and rising to save £30m! This is where the money pouring in to the health service is really going.